CORVALLIS, Ore. — Mother Nature didn’t give the OSU football players a break on Thursday, with temperatures around 90 degrees during practice and it being even hotter down on the turf field, hydration was key.

“It’s pretty hot, I mean the turf definitely bumps it up a few degrees but you know I just try not to think about it and just push past it,” said OSU Football Player Colin Kelly.

Getting hydrated before a hot practice starts days ahead of time.

“Bananas, water, Gatorade, just everything, you got to prepare ahead of time for the heat, it’s not something you can just come out here and you know be ready for,” said OSU Football Player Jordan Poyer.

Once they’re ready, some say it’s those first few minutes on the field that are the hardest in the heat.

“It’s really hot, I mean, I’ve got long sleeves soaked up, I don’t know if it’s from the water or the sweat but I mean it’s pretty hot out here,” said OSU Football Player Feti Unga.

“When you first get out here and you put the pads on and you start warming up sometimes you wonder, man how am I going to get through practice it’s so hot out here, but they prepare us really well,” Poyer said.

That preparation continues onto the field.

“You drink lots of water, trying to find as much shade as possible,” Kelly said.

“Just a lot of water, spray a lot of water on the face, the hair,” Unga said.

They never have to worry they’re going to stay thirsty. Several student athletic trainers’ job is to keep them hydrated.

“They’re amazing, them just being there whenever we’re tired and we need some water, they’re right there,” Poyer said.

Head coach Mike Riley says his biggest priority is to keep the athletes safe.

“I think everything that we do, every drill that we do, everything that we attempt to do on the practice field, that has to be foremost in our mind,” said OSU Football Head Coach Mike Riley.

The players say practicing in the heat is actually beneficial.

“It kind of prepares us for Arizona and different areas where we’re going to play, I mean, it’s not going to be cold all the time so it’s good for us coming out here and playing in the heat,” Unga said.

It’s not just before and during practice that the players work to stay hydrated, afterwards, they go inside and continue to drink plenty of water and electrolytes all day long.